Note: If you need some help, the full answer is posted here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.

Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Q: Take the initials and last names of two opposing historical figures. Add a C and mix all the letters together. You'll get the title and last name of another historical figure from approximately the same era. Who are these people?

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Q: Think of a two-word phrase commonly seen on signs in new businesses. Nine letters in all. Change the sixth letter to an N, and read the resulting letters in order: You'll get a new two-word phrase sometimes seen on humorous signs in classrooms and offices. What signs are these?"

You'll also see the first sign on established stores at this time of year.

Sunday, December 04, 2016

Q: This challenge may sound impossible, but there's a good answer. Think of a common two-word phrase, in seven letters, that has two R's in the middle. And "in the middle" means exactly in the middle. What phrase is it?

I'm sure you'll figure this out before breakfast.

Edit: I figured you were probably eating sausages (wurst) for breakfast, so at worst it would take you until then.

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Q: Take the first name of a famous actress. Drop a letter. Rearrange what's left, and you'll get a word used in a particular sport. This actress's last name, without any changes, is another word used in the same sport. What actress is it?

Sorry to drop the ball, but I've got nothing.

Edit: As others have noted, a similar version of this puzzle was presented in March 2007 - Best S'porting Actress. As for me, I guess I just threw a gutter ball this week. :)

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Q: This is a two-week creative challenge. The object is to write a conundrum or riddle that starts "What is the difference between ..." — in which the answer involves a transposition of words.

For example: What is the difference between a chatterbox and a mirror? Answer: One speaks without reflecting while the other reflects without speaking. Or: What is the difference between a lucky criminal and some Saran with a garden vegetable? Answer: One beats the rap while the other wraps the beet.

Change of spelling in the words is allowed, but not necessary. Entries will be judged on their sense, naturalness of wording, humor, elegance and overall effect. You may submit up to three entries. Mr. Shortz will announce his favorites — and the overall winner — in two weeks.

Hmm... not much to comment on this week. Obviously this is different than most of Will's puzzles in that it is open-ended and is a two week challenge. Start collecting your ideas and we'll discuss them all after the Wednesday deadline.

A: The winner:What is the difference between a priest and his dog? One wears pants and a collar while the other wears a collar and pants.
— Roxanne Abrams, Skokie, Ill.

Runners-up:

What's the difference between a plane taking off and an entomologist? One flies away while the other weighs a fly.
—Ellis Seiberling, New Orleans

What is the difference between Sting and a retired E.P.A. official? One led the Police while the other policed the lead.
—Brett Hunkins, Okemos, Mich.

What's the difference between a twin and a nudist? One bears a likeness while the other likes a bareness.
—Mark Litten, Seminole, Fla.

What's the difference between a libertarian and a charitable pharmacist? One leaves you alone while the other loans you Aleve.
—Mark Mikula, Bristol, R.I.

What's the difference between a straight-A student and a car safety inspector? One breaks the curve on a test while the other tests the brakes on a curve.
—Amy Higgins, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Honorable mentions:

What is the difference between a patient child at a Lionel store and one who teaches powerlifting? One waits to use the trains while the other trains to use the weights.
—Daniel Rosenblum, Teaneck, N.J.

What is the difference between a mall security guard and a deli refrigerator? One locks the stores while the other stores the lox.
—Allan Richardson, Jacksonville, Fla.

What's the difference between a funny guy next door and a radius or ulna? One is humorous to a neighbor while the other is neighbor to a humerus.
—John Perri, Plano, Texas
1) What's the difference between an unlucky hiker and a martyr? One crosses a bear while the other bears a cross.
2) What's the difference between a mountain climber and a dieter? One scales a face while the other faces a scale.
—Margie Shields, San Mateo, Calif.
What is the difference between a metal craftsman working for a funeral home and a laborer in England? One pounds urns while the other earns pounds.
—Judy Davis, Asheville, N.C.
What is the difference between a criminal and a guard? One fences watches while the other watches fences.
—Kerrie Serpa, Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
1) What is the difference between last week's quarterback and this week's kidney stone? One threw passes while the other passes through.
2) What is the difference between a sperm donor and a stockbroker? One shares cells while the other sells shares.
—Jim Serpa, Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
What's the difference between a coloratura soprano and an N.F.L. referee? One hits high notes while the other notes high hits.
—Anthony Gray, Closter, N.J.What's the difference between a pizzeria and John McEnroe? One serves slices while the other slices serves.
—Justin Rosales, Dumont, N.J.What is the difference between Charlie Brown and a shyster? One checks kites while the other kites checks.
—Dan Simmons, Salem, Ore.What is the difference between a responsible drinker and an affectionate puppy? One handles his liquor while the other licks his handler.
—Loretta Srch, Iberia, Mo.What's the difference between Prince Charles and rice at a wedding? One is heir to the throne while the other is thrown to the air.
—Darryl Nester, Bluffton, Ohio1) What's the difference between a convict and an autograph? One is booked in a pen while the other is penned in a book.
2) What's the difference between a medical recruiter and a Photoshop expert? One picks the doctors while the other doctors the pics.
—Summer Beretsky Bukeavich, Williamsport, Pa.What is the difference between a clothing store and a day trader? One stocks shorts while the other shorts stocks.
—Marshall Savitt, Albany, N.Y.What is the difference between a subprime loan crisis and a commemorative William and Kate wedding plate? One roils the markets while the other markets the royals.
—Leah Cole, Quincy, Mass.What is the difference between a tangled ball of string and a brave knight? One is a frayed knot while the other is not afraid.—Bryce Mayo, Gillette, Wyo.What is the difference between an era without war and a sprig of a certain herb? One is a time of peace while the other is a piece of thyme.
—Michael Boone, Agoura Hills, Calif.What's the difference between a panicked driver and a radio deejay? One hits the brakes while the other breaks the hits.
—Alan Nyquist, Keego Harbor, Mich.What's the difference between a drill instructor and a dog trainer? One barks a command while the other commands a bark?
—Manuel Bass, Fullerton, Calif.What's the difference between a marathon race official and Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr.? One times the runs while the other runs the Times.
—Kevin Devine, Marlborough, Mass.What is the difference between the I.R.S. and a flood? One levies taxes while the other taxes levees.—Brian Dontchos, Seattle
What is the difference between a successful student and a food safety inspector? One meets the grade while the other grades the meat.
—Janice Gargan, Southern Pines, N.C.
What is the difference between a choral director and a detective? One leads a choir while the other acquires a lead.
—Curtis Johnson, Denver, Colo.
What's the difference between a Vandal and a Manhattan shopper? One sacks Rome while the other roams Saks.
—Andy Calderwood, Santa Barbara, Calif.
What is the difference between a gas station and a gymnasium in Prague? One is a place to check a tire while the other is a place to tire a Czech.
—Bruce Weitzman, Sherman Oaks, Calif.
What's the difference between a bus driver and a tissue? One knows the stops while the other stops the nose.
—Miles Histand, Portland, Ore.
What is the difference between a renowned attorney and a storm drain? One is a great suer while other is a sewer grate.
—Ryan McNeill, Watkinsville, Ga.
What is the difference between a ship and the Rose Bowl Court? One floats on the waves while the other waves on the floats.
—Mike Strong, Mechanicsburg, Pa.
What's the difference between a power hitter and the operator of an outdoor movie theater? One drives in runs while the other runs drive-ins.
—Steve Feldman, Framingham, Mass.
What's the difference between a beach bum abroad and the lord of the manor? One surfs overseas while the other oversees serfs.
—John Byrne, Medford, Mass.
1) What is the difference between a traveler too sick to go and a husband with his feet in the way? One misses the trip while the other trips the Mrs.
2) What is the difference between a happily married working man and a man getting a divorce? One kisses his wife goodbye upon leaving his house while the other kisses his house goodbye upon leaving his wife.
—Patrick Berry, Jasper, Ala.Several more entries Will liked that were repeated:
What is the difference between a jeweler and a jailer? One sells watches while the other watches cells.
What is the difference between a break-dancer and a museum curator? One busts a move while the other moves a bust.
What is the difference between a mariner and narcotics agents? One sails the seas while the others seize the sales.
What is the difference between a politician and an Indian restaurant chef? One curries favor while the other favors curry.

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Q: This is a two-week creative challenge. The object is to write a conundrum or riddle that starts "What is the difference between ..." — in which the answer involves a transposition of words.

For example: What is the difference between a chatterbox and a mirror? Answer: One speaks without reflecting while the other reflects without speaking. Or: What is the difference between a lucky criminal and some Saran with a garden vegetable? Answer: One beats the rap while the other wraps the beet.

Change of spelling in the words is allowed, but not necessary. Entries will be judged on their sense, naturalness of wording, humor, elegance and overall effect. You may submit up to three entries. Mr. Shortz will announce his favorites — and the overall winner — in two weeks.

Hmm... not much to comment on this week. Obviously this is different than most of Will's puzzles in that it is open-ended and is a two week challenge. Start collecting your ideas and we'll discuss them all in two weeks after the deadline.

Sunday, November 06, 2016

Q: Think of a sign that's frequently seen around this time of year — two words of four letters each. Among these eight letters all five vowels — A, E, I, O, and U — appear once each, along with three consonants. What sign is it?

Edit: My hint was "LOVE MAUI" which uses the vowels in the same order as the answer.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Q: Think of a name in the news that has a doubled letter. It's a person's last name. Change that doubled letter to a different doubled letter, and you'll get the commercial name for a popular food. What is it?

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Q: This is a two-week challenge. Take the digits 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1, in that order. Using those digits and the four arithmetic signs — plus, minus, times and divided by — you can get 1 with the sequence 5 - 4 + 3 - 2 - 1. You can get 2 with the sequence (5 - 4 + 3 - 2) x 1.

The question is ... how many numbers from 1 to 40 can you get using the digits 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 in that order along with the four arithmetic signs?

You can group digits with parentheses, as in the example. There are no tricks to this, though. It's a straightforward puzzle. How many numbers from 1 to 40 can you get — and, specifically, what number or numbers can you not get? Will Shortz will reveal his solution in two weeks.

Enjoy the two-week math challenge. Feel free to post *how many* numbers you can create, but just not specifics on which ones and with what expressions.

Edit: A bit of a trick here. You can create 39 numbers, but not 39. :)

A: Without resorting to tricks, you can write expressions for all but number 39.

Sunday, October 09, 2016

Q: Name a famous actress of the past — first and last names, 10 letters altogether. Change one letter in the first name and one letter in the last. The result is a two-word phrase naming a food item often found in a kitchen cabinet or refrigerator. What is it?

Sunday, October 02, 2016

Q: Name an 11-letter occupation starting with H. If you have the right one, you can rearrange the letters to name two things a worker with this occupation uses — one in six letters and one in five. What occupation is it?

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Q: Take the words DOES, TOES and SHOES. They all end in the same three letters, but none of them rhyme. What words starting with F, S and G have the same property? The F and S words are four letters long, and the G word is five letters. They all end in the same three letters.

As a bonus puzzle, can you think of 6-letter words starting with F, S and G that end with the same letters but don't rhyme? (P.S. Two of the words were used in our Christmas Puzzle from 2006)

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Q: Think of a well-known category with exactly seven things in it. Alphabetize the things from their ending letters, and the last letter alphabetically will be "e." In other words, no thing in this category ends in a letter after "e" in the alphabet. It's a category and set of seven things that everyone knows. What is it?

Sunday, September 04, 2016

Q: If you squish the small letters "r" and "n" too closely together, they look like an "m." Think of a common five-letter word with the consecutive letters "r" and "n" that becomes its own opposite if you change them to an "m."

I have a myriad of excuses as to why I forgot to post the puzzle and answer last week running the gamut from A to Z, but mainly my wife and I were very busy constructing costumes for the family to attend a convention this weekend. I intended to post as soon as I figured out the answer last Sunday but never came up with it, so forgot to get back to it. Apologies to all.

Edit: My hint was "running the gamut from A to Z". On a boat the equivalent would be from stem to stern.

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Q: Name a famous person with the initials B.S. and another famous person with the initials G.M. — whose first and last names, respectively, rhyme with each other. One of the names has one syllable and one has two syllables. Who are these famous people?

I'd rather be reminiscing about my vacation.Edit:The song Reminiscing mentions Glenn Miller, and during American Idol's 2007 broadcast of Idol Gives Back, Ben Stiller jokingly threatened to sing the song nonstop until $200 billion in donations was achieved.

Sunday, August 14, 2016

I'm unable to post the puzzle this week, but I didn't want to leave you without a place to post comments on the puzzle. Somebody help me out by posting a copy here. Then feel free to add your *hints*.

Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any outright spoilers before the deadline of Thursday at 3pm ET. If you know the answer, click the link and submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here. Thank you.

Sunday, August 07, 2016

Q: Name a famous Olympics champion past or present — first and last names. Remove every letter from the name that appears exactly twice. The remaining letters in order will name certain minerals. Who is this Olympics star?

You've probably figured this out already, so you don't need my help this week.

Sunday, July 31, 2016

Q: Take the four four-letter words LIMB, AREA, CORK and KNEE. Write them one under the other, and the four columns will spell four new words LACK, IRON, MERE, and BAKE.

This is called a double word square. I'd like you to find a double word square with 6-letter words. Specifically, your square must include the words PONIES, ACCEPT, SEARED and CAVIAR. These four words must be among the 12 common, uncapitalized six-letter words in the square. Can you do it?

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Q: A spoonerism is an interchange of initial consonant sounds in a phrase to get another phrase, as in "light rain" and "right lane." Name something seen in a kitchen in two words. Its spoonerism is an article that's worn mostly by men. What is it?

The problem I had was that the name I would have used for the kitchen item has the same initial sounds. And what I would have called the men's item would have the same initial sounds. Thus they would both be spoonerisms of themselves, not each other.

Sunday, July 17, 2016

A: Name a prominent American politician — first and last names, 11 letters total. Rearrange these letters, and you'll get a country plus the former name of another country. Who's the politician, and what countries are these?

Sunday, July 03, 2016

Q: Take the word FALSE and divide it between the L and the S (e.g. FAL and SE). FAL is the start of the word FALL, and SE is the end of the word RISE. And, of course, "fall" and "rise" are opposites. Do the same thing for the word SHALL. Divide it into two parts, so that the start of it starts one word and the end of it ends another word — and those two words are opposites. The dividing point is for you to discover. There are three different solutions and you are to find all three.

A: SHORT and TALL, SHARP and DULL, SHAKY and STILL and SHAN'T and WILL

Sunday, June 26, 2016

A: Think of two well-known American cities, each five letters long. The first two letters of the first city are the state postal abbreviation of the second city. And the first two letters of the second city are the state postal abbreviation of the first city. What two cities are these?

What are you waiting for? Something here to lead you to the answer?

Edit: The hints were "what are" which sounds like "water" and "lead" referring to the metal.

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Q: This week's challenge comes from listener Andrew Chaikin of San Francisco. Take the word baci (Italian for "kisses"). You can rearrange the letters to "I C A B" — which sounds like a sentence, "I see a bee."

Now, think of a unit of measurement. Rearrange its letters and read them out loud to form a sentence complimenting someone on their appearance. What's the word, and what's the sentence?

Just read C D B! by William Steig and you'll probably get the answer. Or if not, he has a second book in the series called C D C!.

I'm not sure you can call these "volumes" but that's what I was trying to hint at.

Sunday, June 05, 2016

Q: Name a famous actor — seven-letter first name, four-letter last name. Take four consecutive letters from the first name and three consecutive letters from the last name. These seven letters, in order from left to right, will name something that's often packed nowadays when taking a trip. What is it?

I like to travel to see the world.

Edit: "See world" sounds like "SeaWorld" which is in San Diego, home of the San Diego Chargers.

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Q: What is the most consecutive points a tennis player can lose and still win a best-of-five-sets match? There's no trick. It's a straightforward question. The modern tennis tiebreaker rule does not come into play.

So basically you've got to figure how many sets you can get behind and still be able to catch up?

Edit: You'll be almost ready to lose the 19th consecutive set. Add 57 (hint: Heinz "ketchup") and you have 76 points.

A: 76 points. You start by going up 5 games and 40-love (3 points). Your opponent then needs 5 points to win that game, and 6 more games (24 points) to win the first set 7-5, 24 points to win the second set 6-0 and then another 23 points to be at 5 games and 40-love in the third set

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Q: Name a common household item in 6 letters. Change the middle two letters to a P, and you'll get the 5-letter last name of a famous person who professionally used that item. What's the item, and who's the person?

Sunday, May 08, 2016

Q: Name something in 11 letters that's a common household item. You can rearrange the first six letters to form a synonym of a word spelled by the middle three letters. What is the item, and what are the words?

For some reason this was the first thing I thought of today. By the way, if you rearrange the last 6 letters, you can name something else that is a common household item, and something that definitely is NOT.

Edit: Given that Sunday was Mother's Day, Mom was the first thing I thought of. The last 6 letters of the answer can be anagrammed to REMOTE or METEOR.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Q: Name a famous singer — first and last names. The last four letters of the first name spelled backward plus the first four letters of the last name spelled forward ... read together, in order, name a section of products in a drugstore. What is it?

At a minimum we need a name like BURL IVES, with four letters in each name.

Edit: Burl Ives was in the musical "Paint Your Wagon" and sang "They Call the Wind Maria". The song was the inspiration for Mariah Carey's name.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Q: Take the name of a famous musical. Write it in upper- and lowercase letters, as you usually would. Now turn one of the characters upside-down and move it to another place in the title. The result will be the last name of a well-known stage performer. What is the musical, and who is the performer?

Chicago? Nope. Cats? Nope. Hmm... I'm not getting it!

Edit: My hint had question marks, an ellipsis and an exclamation point to point you to thinking about the punctuation.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Q: Name something in eight letters that's usually bought in pairs. Change the second letter to the letter two spaces later in the alphabet, and you'll get a new word that names something else that's usually bought in pairs. Both words are plurals. What are they?

Put the two words together and that's also something that you can buy. Who knew?

Sunday, April 03, 2016

Q: Take the word EASY: Its first three letters — E, A and S — are the fifth, first, and nineteenth letters, respectively, in the alphabet. If you add 5 + 1 + 19, you get 25, which is the value of the alphabetical position of Y, the last letter of EASY.

Can you think of a common five-letter word that works in the opposite way — in which the value of the alphabetical positions of its last four letters add up to the value of the alphabetical position of its first letter?

I'm crossing this off my list of tough puzzles; this is way too EASY!

Edit: My hint was to crosswalks which are called "zebra crossings" in the U.K.

A: ZEBRA is one possible answer. TABLE, WHACK and MACED also fit the criteria.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Q: Think of a common nine-letter word that contains five consecutive consonants. Take three consecutive consonants out of these five and replace them with vowels to form another common nine-letter word. What is it?

Just to clarify, the first word has 5 consonants in a row; they aren't consecutive in the alphabet. I could have been at this for many weeks if I hadn't changed another assumption I incorrectly made.

Edit: My hint was "weeks" sounding sort of like an antonym of strengths. My mistaken assumption was that Will wouldn't pick a plural as a word so I was initially focused on compound words corkscrew. Incidentally, STRENGTHS is the longest English word with just one vowel.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Q: Take the name of a well-known actress. Her first name starts with the three-letter abbreviation for a month. Replace this with the three-letter abbreviation of a different month, and you'll get the name of a famous poet. Who are these two people?

At least there are only 12 months to deal with, not 13.

Edit: The actress played President Alma Coin from District 13 in "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay" (Parts 1 and 2).

Sunday, March 06, 2016

Q: Bail, Nail, and Mail are three four-letter words that differ only by their first letters. And those first letters (B, N, and M) happen to be adjacent on a computer keyboard. Can you think of five four-letter words that have the same property — that is, they're identical except for their first letters, with those first letters being adjacent on the keyboard? All five words must be ones that everyone knows. Capitalized words and plurals are not allowed. What words are they?

The word "adjacent" may give you some problems, but assume that Will meant "on the same row" and it will all mesh. If you still have problems, you could always just pry up a few keys.

Edit: My hints were the word give which was one of my words. There was also mesh which was a hint to "jive".

Sunday, February 07, 2016

I'm unable to post the puzzle this week, but I didn't want to leave you without a place to post comments on the puzzle. Somebody help me out by posting a copy here. Then feel free to add your *hints*.

Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any outright spoilers before the deadline of Thursday at 3pm ET. If you know the answer, click the link and submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here. Thank you.

Update: Thanks for those that answered my call for help in posting the puzzle this week. While you were trying to figure it out, I was busy trying to navigate the curves of the various ski runs. I found myself face down in the deep snow inhaling ice particles several times. I handled it coolly though and didn't end up falling off any cliffs, so that's good. Now if I could just figure out the key to solving this week's puzzle...

Edit: Curve = Scoliosis, Inhaling particles = Silicosis. Other (shorter) words that work are coolly and cliffs. "Call" and "key" hinted at a telephone key pad

A: Looking at a telephone keypad, 2=ABC, 3=DEF, 4=GHI, 5=JKL, 6=MNO, 7=PRS, 8=TUV, 9=WXY. The first letters in each triad can be used to spell PAJAMA. The second letters in each triad can be used to spell REBUKE. The third letters can be used to spell several words, but for words using 9 letters I found SCOLIOSIS and SILICOSIS.

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Q: Take the name of a country and a well-known city in the Middle East — 12 letters in all. Rearrange these letters to name another country and another well-known city in the Middle East. What places are these?

To clarify, the cities and the countries may not correspond but everything is in the Middle East.